Sam

"Heyyy, baby daddy," Mercedes said, in a sing-song voice, as soon as he picked up the phone to return the three missed calls that had come in during synchronized swim practice. One was from Blaine, one was from Mercedes, and one was from Tina. He already knew why he was getting all the calls.

"Who told you?" Sam asked, as he propped his phone on the bench in the lockeroom and began peeling off his wet swimsuit in one of the stalls. It was getting a little warmer now that March had ushered in the first glimpses of spring, and it wasn't so unpleasant changing before and after practice anymore.

"Tina did," Mercedes admitted. "She heard it from Kitty's brother. She said that Kitty told him Artie didn't take the news very well.

"Basically what you would expect," Sam answered, thinking back to how Amy had hoped to keep the news a secret for at least another week. Apparently that wasn't happening.

"Wow, Sam Evans, a daddy..." She trailed off, as Sam began to feel distinctly unsettled by the conversation with the only other girl he'd almost cared for as much as Amy. Almost.

"It's kind of hard to imagine, right?"

"No, not really," Mercedes replied. "I've seen you with your little brother and sister. And I've seen how you look out for those you love. You're gonna be a great dad, Sam Evans. I just wanted to call and be one of the first to congratulate you."

"Thanks, Mercedes," Sam said, feeling pretty elated by the vote of confidence. It was the first he'd heard, and there was none wiser than Mercedes Jones.

After he got off the phone with Mercedes and finished getting dressed, he dialed Blaine during his walk across campus.

"Sam, I really wasn't ready for this," was the first thing Blaine said. "I'm too young to be a godfather."

"Well, ready or not, here it comes."

Blaine paused, taking note of the weary tone in his normally upbeat friend's voice. "Hey man," he said, more gently and without the teasing undertone. "It'll be okay. And don't let Artie's reaction get you down."

"So, who told you?"

"Tina."

Which brought him to his third and final call, as he approached his destination. He dialed her up and she answered right away. "Sam! How are you?"

"You tell me," Sam said, and sarcasm was not a language he spoke fluently. Na'vi, the 'Avatar' language, yes. Sarcasm, not so much. "Since you seem to know all the latest gossip about me."

He could hear her struggle to collect herself at this. "Sam, I was just worried about you," she said. "Artie too. I can't imagine the strain this is putting on your relationship with him. I just called Artie but he didn't pick up."

"He's just starting his physical therapy session right now," Sam reported. "That would be why. But I'm on my way to see him, so I'll tell him you said 'hello' and I'll tell him you're worried about our relationship."

Another long pause. "So, you guys are on good terms then?"

"I think he's decided to tolerate me, on account of his sister," Sam said. "And the baby," he added. He was going to start referring to the baby as often as he could, because he needed to remind himself each day that it was really happening.

"Well, that's good..." Tina trailed off, and for a second, Sam wondered if she was expecting something more exciting and dramatic, like a bitter stand-off between Sam and Artie. (Er, sit-off? Something to that effect.)

Sometimes it was hard to keep what was happening in the forefront of his mind when he wasn't seeing Amy every day. He'd see her tomorrow, though, as she was coming along to help the Schuesters chaperone the New Directions at OSU. And then it would be time for spring break, and he could spend a whole week with just her. They'd decided on a camping trip. Now in her second trimester, Amy said she felt great and didn't mind the idea one bit, just as long as they upgraded from tent camping and rented a cabin on the lake.

"I gotta go, Tina," Sam said, and he wanted to add something to the effect of stop telling everyone you know about what I did, but words failed him. And besides, he really did have to go.

Artie had just stepped outside of the building, as Sam approached, strapped in a ReWalk and looking surprisingly comfortable with the whole ordeal today. Sam had seen him do it a few times in therapy already, but there was nothing quite like seeing how different it was for him to step out into the real world like this. Beside him, Ken looked smug, like he knew he'd finally done something that Artie wasn't going to complain about.

"It's a good look for you, dude," Sam said, smiling as he approached his friend, who really wasn't all that much shorter than him. Sam then took note of Julie, who was filming them off from the side. Since it was probably not cool to wave at the camera, he just gave her a tight smile and turned his attention back to Artie. "How do you feel, in that, out here?"

"Like a very loud robot still," Artie said, with a laugh. "But I don't hate it. It feels good to be up."

Artie, like Tina, had gotten some mileage out of telling people about his roommate who knocked up his sister. His blind friend, Zack, knew. Julie knew. Even Ken the physical therapist knew. Not that Sam was allowed to be mad at him, exactly. He just continued to grin and bear it and tried to remind himself that someday, maybe when the kid was much older, they'd all sit around and laugh and reminisce about this time.

Artie the Very Loud Robot took a long walk up and down the sidewalk in front of the outpatient rehab clinic. As predicted, many people stared, because they'd never seen anything quite like the ReWalk. Artie walked for as long as he could tolerate, before finally heading inside. Sam went to get the car. Artie was always tired after therapy, especially when it involved the ReWalk, so he'd been doing Artie the favor of pulling his car around and waiting in front of the building.

Sam's broken down Honda was a piece of junk. It needed a new battery probably. Maybe a new engine. The first thing he had to save for, he thought to himself, was a better car. One that would hold a carseat and one that would feel like a safer place for a baby. But in order to save money, he'd need a real job. But if he got a steady job now, it would probably conflict with swim practice. Then he'd lose his scholarship. And he might also fail classes. Then he'd lose the credits he was working so hard to earn. So, a real job sort of had to wait. At least until June.

June, July, August. Three months. Less than three months really. After the semester ended, he'd have less than three months to earn enough money for a nicer car, to hold the carseat, which would hold the tiny, helpless infant that would be depending on him for support. Sam thought back to the last time he'd tried to support another human being, to the dollar bills stuffed in his tiny g-string, and he wanted to hurl.

When Artie finally emerged, wheeled himself parallel to the driver's seat of the car, and pulled open the door, he was stunned by the sight of Sam, slumping across the steering wheel, crying. Sam knew Artie probably thought he was even more pathetic now, having seen this. Artie was quiet as he slid in, dismantled the chair, and put the pieces in the back.

"Sam?" he finally said.

Sam wiped his eyes. "Y-yeah?"

"Stop beating yourself up," he said, really the last thing Sam had expected from the guy who'd been so angry with him the previous weekend.

"I want to do better for her, man," Sam choked out, in a desperate sort of cry that he never meant for Artie to hear. "For my kid. I don't want to fail them."

Artie offered him a smile, a most unexpected gesture from the guy. "You couldn't possibly," he said. "Look, as hard as it's been for me to accept the news, I have. And what I know is that you won't abandon her. Them, I guess. You're gonna stick around, I never questioned that for a second. So... you won't fail them. Just by being there, you already haven't failed them."

"Thanks, man." Now Sam wanted to tear up for an entirely different reason. He blew out his cheeks, though and collected himself. Besides, it would look a little weird to show up all tearful for Dungeon and Dragon's night at Lee, Garrett, and Brent's newly rented place right outside of campus. They'd all agreed to the get together, even on the eve before spring break, because they were that nerdy.

Their three buddies had decided dorm life wasn't for them anymore and had rented the second story of an older lady's home, which had been converted into a small apartment. There was an outdoor staircase that led up there, and of course it complicated things, because it meant Artie had to accept being carried up. He accepted it, begrudgingly, and Sam was still the usual choice for the task. Brent or Garrett usually grabbed the chair, as Lee wasn't allowed to touch it.

"Surprised he's letting you do that," Lee remarked, as Sam entered with Artie on his back. "After you knocked up his sister and all."

So, Artie had already found an opportunity to tell the peanut gallery, it seemed. Normally, Sam might have been able to take their teasing but not today. After lowering Artie to the couch, he turned to address Lee, furrowing his brow angrily.

"Yeah, I did, and that's between me and him," Sam roared back. The other three just stared. They'd never even seen Sam get mad before.

"Yeah, it is," Artie piped up, as he arranged himself carefully atop the tattered sofa cushions. "So, let's just play."

Luckily, Dungeons and Dragons didn't leave much time for anything else. Except Lee wanted to know when Sam's synchronized swimming team was going to complete. Apparently, one of Julie's friends, another girl on the team, had given him a second date. He was going to be extra awesome, he decided, and surprise her by going to the competition. Sam informed him that it was right after spring break. He would be happy to get it over with and behind him. He still wouldn't get to quit until the end of the semester, if he wanted to keep his scholarship. But the stress of not breaking that long string of consecutive championships for OSU with his ground-breaking appearance as the first male competitor would be behind him.

Even if there wasn't much to say, outside of the usual roleplay chatter, Artie still noticed that Sam was not his usual self.

"You seem... really serious," Artie observed, during one of their snack breaks. "Not yourself. You're worrying me."

Sam assured Artie he was fine. He couldn't help how he felt. He didn't think unemployed soon-to-be dads ought to waste time on things like Dungeons and Dragons. And yet, weirdly, he knew that was what Amy would want him to do, with the time he had remaining as Artie's roommate.

Towards the end of the night, Amy texted him to say she was right outside and to come down. Artie, it seemed, had been corresponding with her via text about the situation with Sam. He'd given his sister the address to the house. He'd arranged for her to come down on Friday night instead of taking the bus with the glee club on Saturday.

"I knew it was what you needed," he said, with a shrug, when Sam asked for the explanation. "To see her. So go ahead. One of the other guys can carry me down and take me home later."

She was standing beside her car, which was still running, arms folded, clad in her usual choice of a sweatshirt and jeans, when he emerged from the upstairs apartment. Even a week apart was too long for him. He realized missing her was a huge part of what had him feeling so depressed.

"Hope I'm not interrupting something," Amy said, with a nod to the apartment. "I used to know some guys who rented that place. The older lady likes to rent to guys. As long as she considers them nice and safe. Says she feels protected, since she lives alone."

"She probably shouldn't count on these three clowns to offer much protection," Sam said, with a laugh that sounded a little forced, even to his own ears.

Amy bit her lip. "I'm sorry to take you away from this school. I got four years here. They were great..."

"What?" Sam blinked in confusion at her rambling. "Amy, it's fine, I mean, I would have liked to be your brother's roommate for longer, but that's it. That's my only regret."

Amy nodded. "Wanna go for a drive?" she asked. "Maybe go get icecream or something? I guess I'm supposed to want a pickle in it, but I never was one for pickles."

Sam laughed a little but even he could hear how forced it sounded yet again. "Sure," he said, climbing into the passenger seat.

Amy's car was always clean. She was something of a neat freak, like her brother, to the point that she always had sanitizing wipes in one of the cup holders. She probably went to the car wash at least once a week. It was kind of shocking to him sometimes, that he'd ended up with a girl like this, when he'd always just done what he needed to get by and not really paid attention to the finer details in life.

"Artie used the word 'depressed' to describe how you were acting," Amy said, softly, after some awkward silence passed on their drive. "And I think he's right. You are depressed."

"I don't even have a job," he blurted out, as the rest of his worries followed right behind. "And I can't get one right now, or I'll lose my scholarship. And I have to spend every spare minute that I'm not swimming or going to class studying, or I won't get a good enough grade to keep my GPA high enough, so that I can be a physical therapist someday. I'm not a good student, Amy. I have dyslexia. Did I ever tell you that? I have dyslexia. Our kid might have it, too."

"Sam, do you really think I would discriminate against you for having a disability?"

"It's not like Artie's," Sam mumbled. "Everyone can see he's in a wheelchair, he doesn't have to tell anyone. And nobody thinks it's his fault, nobody thinks, oh, look at Artie, he's just not trying hard enough at walking..."

"A fair point," Amy said, calmly. "Sam, I don't care if our child has dyslexia. I don't care that you do. You're a wonderful guy and if this child turns out to be just like you in every way, I'll be lucky."

Her mouth twisted to the side like Artie's again, which made Sam laugh. Genuinely. And she looked pretty confused.

"Stop doing that," he begged. "It creeps me out. You're making Artie's face at me."

"Technically I had it first," she teased, as she turned into the parking lot of their destination. "Do you like Braums? It's cheap and it's got a drive thru... I can't believe I'm having your baby and I don't even know if you like Braums."

"Well, of course I do," he said. "Who doesn't? You're buying, woman."

"Now who's copying Artie?!"

They had a good laugh before ordering the same flavor, the cappuccino chunky chocolate in waffle cones, which pretty obviously meant they were soulmates, Sam pointed out. She parked in front of Braum's so they could sit and enjoy their cones.

"Hey, Sam," she began, as she licked some icecream off the corner of her mouth. "Uh, so, I don't know if this will make you more or less anxious, but both our mothers want to help, when the baby's born..."

Sam should have expected nothing less out of either of those women. And, if living with Artie had taught him a life lesson, it was when to accept help. He realized that, if the grandmothers took turns watching the baby during the day, maybe he'd be able to work during the day and fit in a few college classes, too.

"Then we should let them," he said, and she was already nodding in agreement. They polished off their cones again in silence. She had some icecream on her nose, which he playfully licked off for her. She pretended to be grossed out, but that didn't last, and soon they were making out in a parking lot.

"Hayley's... not gonna be home... by the way," Amy eventually said, in between kissing his neck. "She's already gone for spring break. We have her apartment to ourselves tonight."

Sam drew back and gave her his most earnest expression. She cracked up. "Well, that cheered you up," she exclaimed, before kissing him again.